Tag Archives: Penn Center
Resolutions, Restitution, and Reparations: 2018 State of the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) celebrated her 18th anniversary as the elected head pun de bodee of the Gullah/Geechee Nation with her annual State of the Gullah/Geechee Nation address on Gullah/Geechee Riddim Radio
From Penn School to Penitentiary-The Attempted Imprisoning of a Gullah/Geechee Community
Ironically and Divinely, many of us that were students of St. Helena School who also grew up working at, going to programs and meetings, and fighting for Penn did not fall into the school to prison pipeline that has been the outgrowth of the lowering of the Gullah/Geechee students’ self-esteem and the lack of income that is directed toward the educational institutions on St. Helena. In fact, we are revolted by the site of penitentiaries! So, when an Anglo woman asked me last week, “Why is a fence going around Penn Center for it to look like a jail over there?,” I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. I visualized what she said and then I actually drove by the historic site yesterday and saw how it was now being caged in. I also knew that I was glad to be free and would remain so because I was not going to let anyone imprison me nor my mind because theirs may be!
Penn Center Drives a Stake Through the Heart of the Gullah/Geechee Community
The Gullah/Geechee community and residents of St. Helena Island repeatedly stated that they did NOT want Penn Center gated off from the community and wanted it to remain an open and welcoming public historic area.
Anyone that has learned the history of the displacement of Gullah/Geechee communities are well aware of the fact that gated areas are the primary mechanism used against the community. The gates promote exclusion no matter what reasoning may be provided about them. The native Gullah/Geechee family of St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation has made it clear that fences and gates are in opposition to their culture and their lifestyle. Yet, an institution that their ancestors built is now becoming a gated area.
Penn Center Community Relations Committee 2nd Meeting
On March 21, 2018, the second Penn Center Community Relations Committee meeting was held which provided the community with feedback from the Penn Center Board of Trustees and staff on the community recommendations from the January meeting.
Penn Center and the Gullah/Geechee Community
The Gullah/Geechee family of St. Helena Island seemed to be singing in harmony once again during this first gathering of what is the Penn Center Community Relations Committee (CRC). The CRC is a standing committee of the Penn Center, Inc. Board of Trustees. It was established on December 8, 2017 in order to improve and enhance the relationship between Penn Center, Inc. and the community it serves.
Celebrating Reconstruction in Beaufort County @GullahGeechee
The Reconstruction Era National Monument which is celebrating its first anniversary is dedicated to commemorating the period from 1861 through 1900 when nearly four million previously enslaved Africans sought to integrate into a free society and into the educational, economic, and political life of the country that they actually built. The Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition in collaboration with Gullah African Diaspora Artists (GADA) will host a conference that will delve deeply into the Gullah/Geechee story of Reconstruction. The “Realities of Reconstruction Conference” will be held at the new Mather Museum and Interpretive Center which is located at the historic Mather School campus which is now the Technical College of the Lowcountry. The conference will give the participants an opportunity to visit several sites beyond those that are officially a part of the Reconstruction Era National Monument.
Queen Quet’s AFWLC Roundtable
Meet and engage with Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation at “De Queen’s Roundtable.” The event will be held at the Hampton House at Penn Center, Inc. on Tuesday, August 22, 2017 from 6 to 7:30 pm. Admission is by donation and books, CDs, and DVDs will be on sale.
Queen Quet will present on “De Gullah/Geechee Ooman a Cut Above de Ress and Ahead ob e Time!”
Gullah/Geechee TV & Movie Club Launches with “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War”
The “Gullah/Geechee TV & Movie Club” will begin on Thursday, March 23rd at 6 pm with Part 1 of the documentary, “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War.” Part 2 will be shown on April 27th. Both parts will be introduced by Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) who appeared in and consulted for the documentary which aired on PBS when it was first released.
Reconstruction National Monument Dedication in the Gullah/Geechee Nation
The US National Park Service and local partners will host a community celebration marking the recent establishment of Reconstruction Era National Monument from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Saturday, March 18, 2017 at St. Helena Island’s Penn Center. The event is free and open to the public.
President Obama Declares National Reconstruction Monument in Beaufort, SC
President Barak Obama declared five new United States National Monuments by using the Antiquities Act to “preserve critical chapters of our country’s history” and to “ensure that our national parks, monuments and public lands are fully reflective of our nation’s diverse history and culture.” One of these new national monuments is the multi-site “Reconstruction National Monument” in Beaufort County, SC. It will include the Brick Baptist Church and Darrah Hall which are both in the Penn Center National Landmark Historic District on St. Helena Island, SC as well as the site of the Emancipation Oak at Camp Saxton in Port Royal. All of these sites have major significance to the spiritual and land rights story of the Gullah/Geechee Nation as well as to the on-going battle for freedom and full recognition of the contributions of people of African descent to America.
